Not dead, I just keep getting shifts back to back at work. Retail tends to kill the muse, sadly.
Arieen was torn between happy and a little misty-eyed as she watched Shirou, Sakura, and Illya leave for their Trials. While Shirou and Sakura were also taking their Knight Trials, this also doubled as their final mage exams.
Arturia was just about done with her child's moping, so she suggested something to take Arieen's mind off it.
"A family vacation?"
Arturia nodded.
"The therapist suggest it. She said it would be a good way for us to bond and get to know each other without the headaches of ruling hanging over us. It doesn't help that you haven't exactly traveled much since adopting Shirou."
To be honest, she had been getting the wandering bug again. And they had been progressing rather nicely in therapy, especially since her father had regained Excalibur from Nimue.
Arturia was still exasperated beyond belief that Arieen and Scathach were still sleeping with Merlin, who was a frequent visitor in their bed chambers. While she had accepted Scathach as a member of the family (even if Arieen and Scathach were not officially married to each other), Merlin was just a headache she had learned to deal with.
Though even she would admit he was much easier to live with this time around, because Arieen gave as good as she got in regards to his pranks.
"Where would you suggest?" asked Arieen, perking up.
"Queen Titania found a rather interesting version of the Grail War where the fight takes place in Romania. She wouldn't tell me much beyond the fact it was a 'Greater Grail War', and that a Ruler would be present."
Arieen was already perking up at the idea. If they got there early enough, they might even be able to take the place as Masters themselves. Last time she had bowed out because she hadn't known exactly what this Grail War would entail beyond the minimum, but now she wanted to have a go at it herself. Besides, the chance to possibly obtain the chance to pull the sword from the stone was a little too tempting to resist.
"When do we leave?"
"Are you sure?" asked Arturia.
"Scathach is off doing some major training with Iris and to a lesser extent Hermione. Merlin is already in Fuyuki to determine if the trio are ready to become full Knights. And Waver is off at Clocktower with his new job and Gray is there with him. So why not take an overdue vacation and shake off the rust for a change?" said Arieen. "Besides, this would be the first time we've taken a family vacation with just the two of us. It would be nice to see how the therapy holds."
Which was part of the reason Arturia had seriously considered Titania's suggestion.
The two packed lightly, as this was mostly a month long trip if that. After all, the Grail war was between mages who were more inclined to spend years on the preparing, not the doing. By this point the major players had likely already gathered and were about to start the big show.
Arieen couldn't wait.
In Fuyuki
Shirou couldn't help it. He took one look at the Judge of the Trials and groaned.
"Of course the king would send you as the Judge," said Shirou. Besides him, Illya had an equally pained look.
Merlin waved at all three of them.
"You know the rules. I won't get involved unless something goes massively FUBAR," he said cheerfully. "Also, I volunteered to see the war up close."
"Great...we get Rapunzel the Troll as our judge," said Illya rolling her eyes.
"Hey, at least I won't stop you lot from getting any. My only role is to insure you conduct yourselves as proper Shadow Knights, not to keep you celibate," Merlin replied.
Illya and Sakura stared at him. Merlin stared back.
"You do realize we'd have done our ardent best to kill you if you tried...right?" said Sakura slowly.
While the crest worms had been firmly removed before she turned into a fairy, the effects lingered. Attaching herself to Shirou as his personal 'sheathe' had done wonders in healing her from that trauma, though her darker side remained.
That being said, Sakura was usually the first one to retaliate in the most bloody fashion if something threatened to interrupt her 'Shirou-time'...with Illya close behind.
By mutual agreement, all three went to separate areas to summon their Servants. Each had already gained a command seal before they left Tenebrae.
As the moon began to rise, each intoned the spell. Merlin stayed out of it, waiting at the agreed base of operations donated by none other than Kiritsugu.
Illya planned to pilfer as much as she could from the Einzbern castle outside town, as she did have a right to it, but they would mostly be keeping that as a secondary base because no one would expect three masters to share one so close to town.
With Shirou...
"I ask of you, are you my Master?"
Shirou stared at his Servant. He was tall, about the same size as Herne. He had short white hair that spiked upwards and eyes that were a burnt amber color. His skin was tan, and he had the build of someone who favored speed and precision above overwhelming someone with brute force.
He wore a deep crimson red coat over black armor, and wore heavy combat boots. Shirou could tell at a glance he was ambidextrous, and he held himself with a subtle confidence that spoke of many, many battles.
Under most circumstances, he might not have recognized the man straight off...however it was the eyes that all but confirmed it for him.
"Fuck my life, how the hell did I summon my future self as a Servant?" he said, face-palming. Arieen was never going to let him live this down.
Archer stared at him in shock, likely at being outed so damn fast.
Archer looked around curiously.
"Why are we in the woods?"
"Safety precaution, so none of the other two influence the servants we get," said Shirou.
"Other two?" repeated Archer faintly.
Shirou took out a phone and was already sending a group text that he had summoned an Archer-class spirit.
He got a reply back from Illya first. She had summoned a Caster-type spirit but was quiet about who it was. Sakura responded about fifteen minutes after her, saying she had gotten a Rider-class.
Shirou began walking back to the base. Archer astralized, still very confused because there was something majorly different about this version of his younger, more naive self.
Shirou was glad he had his camera out, because he caught Archer's reaction to the idiot currently crashing in front of the new TV playing some video game or another. Shirou couldn't tell which and was already doing prep work on dinner.
He found cooking relaxing, and he had plenty of experience under world-class chefs in Tenebrae. Besides, Arieen barely knew how to cook anything edible on a good day.
Illya entered the home next, and he could sense Archer stiffen in shock. Sakura came home about two minutes after she did.
"So should we do the big reveal now or after supper?" asked Shirou.
Illya looked positively gleeful at the idea, and Sakura smiled mysteriously.
"Now then," said Shirou. "Archer, might as well make yourself known. They're going to be allied with us anyway. Oh and girls, before you say anything I'm already kicking myself in exasperation over it."
That confused them briefly before they saw Archer and recognized him as quickly as Shirou himself had. Illya straight up cackled.
"You actually managed to land in the Throne of Heroes? The king is going to have a field day with this!" cackled Illya.
"Tell me about it," sighed Shirou. "So who did you summon?"
Illya proudly stood aside revealing her Caster-class Servant...who looked like a girl barely thirteen at most with dark black hair and quiet eyes. She was also dressed in a stereotypical magical girl outfit, of all things.
When it was Sakura's turn, she revealed not one Servant, but a two that were classed as one.
They were clearly pirates, and considering their weapons and clothing, Shirou had a pretty good idea which ones. There were only a handful of successful female pirates who could have made it to the Throne of Heroes, and only one set that he could see being paired as a single Servant like that.
"No way...you managed to summon Anne Bonny and Mary Reed as a Servant?" he said impressed. Sakura beamed at him. "They're going to have a field day when they see the stuff we brought with us from home to break the ice."
The items in question being some almost out of date stock of fairy wine and a few casks in case there was another 'meeting of the kings' like the last Grail War.
The double Rider class servants beamed at him for guessing their identities so quickly.
They even more happy when Sakura brought out an entire cask of fairy wine. Shirou said nothing as his 'future' self joined in on the drinking. He didn't know what was bothering the guy, but he had the distinct feeling he'd find out soon regardless.
He really started hitting the booze hard once he realized who Merlin was. Merlin was equally amused meeting him.
Arieen was already well into her third tankard when she spotted them. A man in a biker outfit walking with a scantily dressed teen with spiked blond hair and an arrogant attitude.
Arturia took one look at the teen, before she stared at Arieen.
Arieen stared at the teen herself, who was playing with a cat on the street while the man spoke to someone else.
A wild, ridiculous idea formed in her head. Arturia took one look and sighed at it, because at this point she had become well acquainted with Arieen's ridiculous luck...and drunken ideas that caused all sorts of headaches for her 'minders' as Waver flippantly put it.
The teen didn't see her coming until it was too late, and by that point she had been kidnapped. Arturia did not ask where Arieen managed to secure a moped that quickly or the helmet. Instead she focused on the man who stared dumbfounded that his Servant had just been kidnapped by a complete stranger.
With Arieen
Arieen silently cackled to herself. Her alternate's reaction to being nabbed like that was hilarious.
Once she slowed down, her alternate had a rather...amusing...expression on her face while staring at the helmet.
"You do realize that grabbing me is about to end very badly for you...right?" said Mordred, incredulous.
Perhaps it was the booze, or perhaps it was to see her alternate's reaction. But Arieen summoned her old armor from when she was a Knight Camelot, as well as Clarent...and intoned the Old Oath right in front of her alternate.
Mordred's jaw dropped in absolute shock and disbelief.
"You...how is this possible?!"
Arieen removed her armor with a thought, and vanished Clarent.
"Eh...Fairy realms traverse more than one reality and Titania thought it would be hilarious to suggest this one for an overdue vacation. Should have guessed that one of my alternate selves was here from how amused she was at the idea."
"Fairies?" said Mordred, curious.
Arieen grinned at her.
"Arieen Mordred Black, the faerie king of Chaos and ruler of the kingdom of Tenebrae, at your service," said Arieen with a bow. "Formerly Mordred Pendragon, knight of Camelot."
Mordred had a rather odd expression on her face, though she stiffened when she saw Arturia walk up. It took her a second to register something was off about her father.
"Have you had your fun?" said Arturia calmly. Behind her was Mordred's Master, who looked very confused and more than a little bewildered at seeing two Mordred there.
Mordred was glaring at Arturia pretty intensely...then again it was likely she hadn't faked Arturia's death.
Arieen sighed.
"Saber, before you get pissed this is a version of Arturia that went through some actual fucking therapy and has had a chance to get the stick out of her ass."
Mordred blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"Apparently the version of Arturia in the Throne of Heroes has it in her head that everything would have been better if Camelot hadn't existed," explained Arieen. "I had to ream her out pretty good when I found out what her wish was, because that version of her was pretty delusional about the impact Camelot had later."
Mordred stared at her.
"Why aren't you angry?" she demanded.
"Because I was more inclined to curse Morgana out for basically raping her sibling just to have a chance at the throne, all because of Merlin's little prank...and now I desperately need a drink because she had way too many details when I did ask about that," said Arieen with a grimace.
Arturia made a face.
"It's true, she tends to head straight for the first tankard she can get her hands on whenever the subject was brought up and gave Bedivere a broken arm and two matching black eyes for daring to take her liquor from her once," said Arturia.
Mordred looked very confused at that. But she was still pissed towards Arturia.
"Something tells me this is a conversation best held with an unholy amount of liquor and hangover remedy for the morning after," said Arieen. Anything that brought up memories of Morgana automatically meant a long drinking binge.
Mordred silently admired her alternate's ability to drink all three of them under the table, as that took skill. Kairi was just glad Servants could get rid of most of the alcohol in their system very quickly, because he did not contemplate his survival chances with a drunk as hell Servant against any of the major players.
